More people living in the East Kootenay region will have access to high-quality long-term care as Interior Health prepares to build a new care community with 148 beds.

“As people age, they want to be able to receive high-quality health-care services, including long-term care,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “That’s why we are building a new care community that will provide more long-term care beds and community services in Cranbrook. Seniors and their loved ones will have peace of mind knowing they will be supported with the care they need, close to home.”  

With the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District and community partners, Interior Health will construct a new four-storey long-term care facility at 1700 4 St. South, Cranbrook. The new building will replace the 60-bed Dr. F.W. Green Memorial Home, which is approximately 70 years old. The new facility will add an additional 88 long-term care (LTC) beds, for a total of 148 beds.

The project will begin soon with procurement. Construction is expected to start in 2025. Phase 1 is anticipated to open in 2027, relocating all existing residents and making way for Phase 2 to accept new residents in 2029.

“The expansion and upgrade to the Dr. F.W. Green Memorial Home will provide a new and modern building for our seniors in the Cranbrook area,” said Susan Brown, president and CEO, Interior Health. “As well, our staff will benefit from modern technologies and improved workflow in the new building.”

This new care-community model takes lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic into account with designs using the new best-practice infection-control standards. This model improves pandemic resiliency, while being culturally sensitive to serve a diverse population.

The care home will be designed as “households” accommodating 12 to 18 residents. Each resident will have a single-bed room with dedicated washroom. The "households" will include the social and recreational spaces found in a typical home-like environment, such as a living room, dining room, activity space and access to the outdoors.

There will also be community spaces and services for residents, families, visitors and staff, including activity rooms, a hair salon, sacred space and a 25-space adult day program for people living more independently in the community. As well, a child care space will be constructed with capacity for 37 children.

The capital cost of the project is $156.5 million to be funded jointly between the Province through Interior Health and the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District. The care community will be constructed, owned and operated by Interior Health.

LTC communities provide care and supervision for people with complex care needs, who can no longer live safely and independently at home, through a range of services delivered by well-trained, compassionate and caring staff.

To meet growing demand during the past five years, government has invested approximately $2 billion to expand and improve quality care for seniors in British Columbia, including investments in primary care, home health, LTC and assisted living.

Quotes:

Harwinder Sandhu, Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors’ Services and Long-Term Care –

“Ensuring that seniors have access to long-term care in their communities is critically important to bettering the health and well-being of older adults in our province. Increasing long-term care capacity in Cranbrook will allow seniors to remain in their community, near their families and loved ones, helping them to stay connected, while receiving the high-quality health services and care that people need.”

Jennifer Rice, Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health –

“Seniors deserve to have access to top-quality care, no matter where in B.C. they live. By adding long-term care beds in rural communities like Cranbrook, we’re helping seniors to remain in their home communities. This facility is another demonstration of our government taking action to improve health equity throughout the province.”

David Wilks, chair, Kootenay East Regional Hospital District –

“The Kootenay East Regional Hospital District has been a strong supporter of this project for many years and has committed $63 million to help make it a reality. Not only will it create additional, much-needed access to long-term care in our region, it will also provide quality care in an environment that supports quality of life for residents, which is critically important.”

Susan Blake, community integrated care co-ordinator, Dr. F.W. Green Memorial Home –

“With a new, modern site, the benefits for our residents and our staff will be great. The home-like environment will go a long way in better supporting residents, particularly when it comes to memory care. We’re all looking forward to the new long-term care home that will increase our occupancy and have a positive impact to our wider community.”

A backgrounder follows.